Friday, April 21, 2006

Lady Blackhawk Update!

The always-alert Laura Gjovaag pointed out in the comments that Lady Blackhawk is currently appearing in Birds of Prey as Oracle's pilot.

I'd also like to update some information from that post. I had not read Blackhawk #140 at that point and didn't have access to scans of that issue. I noted:

She returned many times over the years, and appears to have been inducted as a full-fledged member of the team in Blackhawk #140 (don't have the story to check, but her next appearance opens with this line):

It is a great day for Lady Blackhawk when she joins the famed team on her first flight patrol.

This is unusual compared with the other female characters that DC added to their line: Batwoman was initially forbidden by Batman to operate, while Supergirl had to act as Superman's "secret weapon".

Perhaps I was a little optimistic there. Luckily for me, a friend managed to scan Blackhawk #140 and I've now read the story in question.

Lady Blackhawk performs magnificently in this adventure. When the Blackhawks are captured by The Scavenger, she deduces their location, then flies to rescue them. She isn't above using her feminine wiles here:

Later she uses a boomerang to kayo The Scavenger himself. But alas, my hope that Blackhawk would prove more willing to adapt to changing times than most of the DC heroes was dashed:

Maybe someday, we'll hold a vote on whether to give you honorary membership? I mean, what the heck is that? Give me a break! This is not like Blackhawk #133, where Lady Blackhawk's many positive qualities are balanced by some negatives. She's behaved like a superstar, saving the rest of the team twice.